crisp



i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. CRISP, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE COPE- LANDBOOT TREEING MACHINE COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONN.

BOOT-TREE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,1 09,.dated June21, 1881. Application filed March 7, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. ORIsP, ofBoston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwea-lth of Massachusetts,have made a certain new and useful invention in Boot-Trees, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and accurate description, reference beingbad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inexplaining its nature, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section ofthe boot-tree, with the exception of the foot-piece, illustrating myinvention. Fig. 2 is a detail View in section of a portion of the treerepresented in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and Fig. 4.represents the old method of construction, and upon which mine is animprovement.

The invention consists in the method of and mechanism for securing theback piece of the boot-tree to the front piece.

It is very common to use with one front piece a number of differentsizes and shapes of back 'pieces, and thereby obtain a variation of thesize or shape of the boot-tree with comparatively slight expense; and ithas become desirable, on account of treeing boots and shoes by machinerysuch as is described in various Letters Patent granted me, to providemeans whereby the back may be quickly removed and another substitutedand secured in place.

The old method of securing the back pieces to the front pieces isrepresented in Fig. 4, and it consists in the rod or post-a, fastened tothe front piece, A, and projecting upwardly therefrom, and having thetransverse recesses a, the screw-thread a, and the nut a The back piece,B, was provided with a yoke, a, which has an opening, a sufficient topermit the front portion of the yoke to be passed through the recessesor slots to in the rod or post. These slots or recesses were located inthe rod or post at some distance from the front piece, and to lock theback piece to the front piece it was necessary to move out theadjusting-nut, to permitof the insertion of the yoke upon the rod, andthen to adjust the nut, and in removing the back part from the frontpart this operation was reversed-that is, the adjusting-nut must bescrewed outwardly to provide room for the passage of the yoke betweenthe recesses. In addition to the time that it takes to move theadjustingnut,it requires some little time,'comparative- 5 1y, to adjustthe position of the yoke in relation to the recesses in the rod to bringthem inv line as the back is being put on or taken off.

To practice my invention I provide the rod 6c or post a with therecesses 11, in close proximity to the front piece, as shown in Figs. 2and 3, and use additionally a spring, b, secured to the front piece,which, upon the insertion of the yoke, tends to throw it upward 6 5 onthe rod, so that its edge 0 shall come in contact or shall lock upon theportion at of the rod.

By this construction it is unnecessary to move the adjusting-nut inplacing or taking off a back piece, and the portion e of the facepieceacts as a guide in properly locating the yoke in line with the recessesin the rod, so that all that is necessary in placing or removing theback piece is to place the yoke upon said portion of the face-piece andto slide it inwardly, and the action of the spring will then throw itupwardly sufficiently to lock it upon the post, and in removing the backpiece it is only necessary .to press it toward the front piecesufficiently to press the spring enough to enable the yoke to bewithdrawn through the recesses.

Any desirable mechanism for separating the two parts of the tree may beused in connec- 8 5 tion with this device.

I do not confine myself to the form of spring forautomatically causingthe yoke to look upon the post after it has been properly placed inrelation thereto.

' Having thus-fully described my invention,

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1.The combination, in a boot-tree, of the face-piece provided with thepost or rod to, 5 having the recesses b and adjusting-nut M, with theback piece, B, provided with the yoke a and a spring device forautomatically varying the position of the yoke upon or in relation tothe post or rod in locking the same thereto, substantially as herein setforth.

2. The combination, in a boot-tree, of the 5 front piece having a post,a, provided with recesses b at or near the surface of the front piece,and an adjusting-nut, a with the back piece, B, having a yoke, at, alladapted to opcrate substantially as described.

J. E. CRISP.

-Witnesses:

F. F. RAYMOND, 2d, W. O. Foee.

